


Water & Wind

by LadySerendipitous



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien's bare chest, AdrienEats, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Motorcycles, Summer Vacation, Swimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 02:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6593698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySerendipitous/pseuds/LadySerendipitous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette and Adrien are not given the choice when Nino's uncle invites the four friends for a fun weekend at his house on the lake.  While the two teen superheros love hanging out with their friends, they worry about the safety of Paris in their absence.  What will they do if there's an attack while they are out of town?  How will Adrien respond when he realize his Lady is behind him? How will Marinette respond when she finds out her crush regularly runs around in a cat suit?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. To the Lake

**Author's Note:**

> This was suppose to be a one shot, now it's a multi chapter fic because I can't make something like this short apparently! No beta or extra editing, sorry.

“A lake house?” Marinette asked while blinking in surprised, her hands clinched up and against her chest.

Alya nodded happily, her eyes dancing. Next to her Nino was leaning back with a lazy grin of his own. He had let Alya tell their two best friends that his uncle had given him an open invitation to visit his place outside of Angers a few hours drive west of Paris. When Alya found out she had started making plans immediately and only now was Adrien and Marinette being privileged with the information. Nino didn’t mind that Alya was taking charge. After all it was one of the things he admired about her. Besides her excitement was contagious.

Except right now it wasn’t. What was wrong with the two of them? They looked like the news was the worse thing that had come out of Alya’s mouth, and neither of them had bare witness to Alya’s theory of Chloe being Ladybug!

“Father will never go for it,” Adrien said shaking his head. Nino glanced back at Marinette who looked even more upset then when the news hit. Maybe she did want to go and the thought of Adrien not going with just upset her? That crush of hers was adorable, but sometimes he wondered how she was able to even interact with his best bro.

“Already thought of that! That’s why I took the liberty of calling your father’s assistant last week. She just got back to me today with an agreement for you to go with us. Under certain conditions.” Alya wrinkled her nose at the last part, but overall was very proud of herself. 

“You did what?” Adrien looked at the budding reporter with an expression Nino had a hard time pinning down. He suspected it was something like awe. He was in awe over it after all. He hadn’t been sure how they could convince Mr. Agreste to let Adrien come, especially since the man didn’t exactly like Nino himself. Alya though insisted she had a plan and just needed a chance to contact Nathalie. Nino had given her the number, wishing her luck.

“Well it wasn’t going to do any good to bring this up if we couldn’t get your schedule cleared for a vacation, right?” Alya looked smug as Adrien open and closed his mouth several times.

“You didn’t do that to me too did you?” Marinette had her arms crossed, a frowning pout on her face.

Alya went around and put an arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “Of course not,” Marinette visibly relaxed. “There’s no way they’ll say no! In fact we should go bathing suit shopping before you ask!”

“ALYA!” Marinette turned looking at her best friend in horror.

“Dudes, seriously. Why are you both freaking out about this? It’s going to be a blast.” Nino had been convinced their friends were going to be excited about a bit of fun out of the city. Their reaction was exactly the opposite of that however.

Adrien had to good grace to look a bit ashamed. “No, no, you’re right Nino. I just… surprised!”

Marinette’s face was red, but Nino chalked that up to Alya bringing up bathing suits while she was sitting next to Adrien. “I’m not freaking out. I just… I wasn’t … that is to say, well, … and suddenly… but yay?”

“Better! Now,” And Alya slammed her hand on the table. “Me and my best girl has some shopping to do. See you boys later.”

“Now?” But Marinette didn’t have much chance arguing with Alya. She was a force of nature and soon they both swept out of the cafe.

And that was how Marinette found herself in a limo with Alya, Nino and her ultimate crush, Adrien. Driving the limo was the Gorilla. His presence was one of the stipulations for Adrien being able to go. It wasn't too bad, after all it beat the bus. 

Being the first one picked up had been both a blessing and a curse, but somehow Marinette had managed to barely stutter and didn't start rambling. She was pretty sure that she had a nervous smile plastered to her face until Nino had gotten in, but if Adrien had noticed he didn't comment, instead saying how excited he was about their trip. 

Had he seemed like he was trying to convince himself? Nonsense, Marinette was sure it was just her own guilt gnawing at her. She was Ladybug, she should have stayed in the city! At least they weren't traveling too far away. If an akuma did show up, and what were the chances over the next few days, she'd figure out some way to get back. 'I hope!'

"I am seriously jealous of the speakers in here!" Nino had of course taken control of the music once he was settled in. Adrien grinned at his best friend's enthusiasm as Nino went on about the whole sound system. 

Marinette loved that grin. It was the type that reach his eyes. Not all of his smiles did that she had realized, but when he was with just his friends the grins were more genuine than the picture perfect smiles he was known for. 

Alya nudged her lightly in the ribs and wiggled her eyebrows once Marinette looked at her. In response Marinette shoved her best friend. The end result was an eruption of giggles from both girls to the confusion of the boys. Marinette was thankful her best friend couldn't, or at least wouldn't, tease her outloud while they were all in the limo together. God, had she been making obvious faces at Adrien? Probably!

Once they were off the streets and heading down the highway the group of teens had settled into talking about what they hoped to do while at the lake. Swimming was obvious, but also the possibility of a camp fire and cooking things on it. Adrien had pointed out that star gazing would be a must, being away from all the light pollution of Paris and that sent Marinette spiraling into all sorts of romantic notions she'd never have the guts to fulfill. 

With good company and good snacks, provided by Marinette's parents, they quickly arrived at Nino's uncle's house. Once out of the limo, Marinette gasped. The lake reflected the sunlight like gems and in the distance seemed to be woods. The sounds were so different from the city, where even in parks there was still the distant roar of traffic. It'd been such a long time since she left Paris Marinette had forgotten what the countryside could be like. Not that they were out in the middle of nowhere, but it was a distinct difference. 

A man came from the house to greet the group of teenagers at the limo. "Nino my boy, I'm so happy to see you!" He then gave the teen a bear hug. 

"Everyone I'd like you to meet my uncle, Chevalier Kantari," Nino said once he was released from the man's embrace. There were some family similarities. Uncle Chevalier was a slim man with a dark complexion and an infectious smile. He shook hands with each of the teenagers as Nino introduced them. He had a mischievous look when Alya's hand was in his. 

"First I'll show you your rooms and let you settle in before we have lunch in an hour. Then a quick tour of the house," Nino's uncle suggested once the teens and their driver started walking up to the house with their bags. 

Leading them up a flight of stairs to a deck, he had them enter the house into the kitchen area then had them follow to an indoor set of stairs that landed them where the bedrooms were. The boys were shown their room first, then the girls before finally the Gorilla. Uncle Chevalier didn't seem to notice the scrutiny the large bodyguard gave the first room before he left it, letting Adrien sigh in relief that it wasn't going to become some sort of issue. 

"Look at this view," Alya said once she dropped her bag on one of the beds in the room her and Marinette were sharing. 

Looking over at the big picture window, Marinette could see the lake. "Wow, this is amazing. It was really nice of Nino's uncle to invite us out here."

"Totally. I can't wait to get in the water!"

"Is that a platform out there?" Marinette points to what looks like a structure in the water. 

"Maybe. Guess we'll find out after lunch."

Marinette nodded in agreement, going back to her bag and pulling out her swimsuit. It was a cute pink two piece with white fringe. Alya had helped her buy it and Marinette was more than a little excited to wear it, hoping that Adrien would like it. At the thought she blushed. She just hoped she didn't end up making a complete fool of herself once they were in the water. 

Since they were excited to get going, the girls changed into their swim suits then put their covers over and grabbed their beach bags loading their towels and extra sunscreen. Once Marinette adjusted her hat, for the fifth time in the mirror, Alya grabbed her arm to pull her out of their room. Marinette barely got a chance to grab her bag before being hauled out the door and dragged in front of the boys' door, where Alya knocked. 

Nino answered the door and grinned. His headphone, which were an almost constant part of his wardrobe, were absent, attesting to the fact that he was also ready to get into the water. "Hey ladies, ready to head down to the kitchen and see if lunch is ready? Just hold on, mister model is putting on another layer of sunscreen."

Beyond the door, Marinette could see Adrien in front of a vanity, applying sunscreen carefully to the tips of his ear. "Yeah, yeah, make fun of me Nino, but we both know my father would be furious if I come home with a bad burn."

Nino just shrugged. "Might be able to get out of a few photo shoots if you did."

Grabbing his own bag, Adrien walked over to the door. "Yeah, and be forced to stay indoors for the rest of the summer."

Nino winced in response, obviously realizing that was a bad plan. Once the group headed down stairs, they were greeted by a short brunette woman in the kitchen, who immediately came over to Nino and gave him a hug. She commented on how much Nino had grown since the last she'd seen him. After being slightly embarrassed Nino introduced her as Aunt Claudette. She apologized for not greeting them when they first got to the house, having been out shopping, and then fussed for them all to sit and eat. 

By the time the teens were halfway through their meal Uncle Chevalier and the Gorilla joined them. From the nearly one sided discussion taking place it seemed Nino's uncle had been giving the bodyguard a tour of the property. Once finished, and offers to help clean up were refused, Uncle Chevalier started to give his nephew's friends a quick tour of the house, making sure they knew were the bathrooms were and the rec room where they could hang out if the weather turned or they just wanted to come inside. They were also given a brief idea of other parts of the house that was part of any polite tour, though it was unlikely they'd ever step foot in them. They then wandered outside, where they could see the two decks facing the water, as well as a large garden. Uncle Chevalier then took them to a large shed that was bigger than some apartments. 

"The row boat is large enough for four or five, but only one person is needed to man the ores. Nino's pretty good at it. Also if you know how to ride, feel free to use the motorcycles."

Adrien who had been smiling politely for most of the tour, grinned as he saw the bikes. He looked at the Kawasaki and Yamaha, but the heavier BMW was the one his eyes held the longest. "I might have to take you up on the offer, sir."

His friends looked at him all in surprise, but it was Marinette who asked the question. "Y-you know how to ride a motorcycle Adrien?"

"Yeah, learned a few years ago actually. Was at a shoot at a speedway, and I might have suggested it would be more realistic if I was actually familiar with the bikes." He chuckled, at the memory, then shrugged his shoulders. "I'm pretty sure if Father had been there I wouldn't have gotten away with it, but one of the racers there took the time to start teaching me, and now every few months the Gorilla takes me out for a ride." Adrien would have put his hands in his pockets at this point, except his swim trunks didn't have any. Instead he just moved his hand on the shoulder strap of his bag. The looks on his friends faces making him feel slightly self concious, but not necessarily in a bad way. 

Speaking of the Gorilla, after their tour was complete, they found the large man sitting in a lawn chair near the water, an umbrella behind him and a straw hat covering his face. Obviously he was going to be watching out for Adrien's well being by ensuring the teen model didn't drown, but that didn't mean he couldn't relax in the meantime. The way Nino looked from the bodyguard to Adrien made the blond realized his friend never seen the big guy relaxing. Which made sense. Usually when Adrien was out with him he was being a professional. Out here, once he was sure of the relative level of safety, he didn't have to be super tense. 

Nino pointed out the best place for them to put their towels and everyone started to take stuff out of their bags. Glancing over, Adrien noticed how careful Marinette was being with her bag as she took out her towel and sunscreen, like there was something delicate in the bag. He shook off the thought as he made sure he didn't jostle Plagg as he put his bag at the end of his towel, before he started unbuttoning his shirt. Taking it off he placed it on top of his bag. 

"I-I-I'm getting in the water!" Adrien looked over, hearing Marinette's decloration. She was running to the water. Were her cheeks pink? He only got a glance before all he could see was her back. He hoped she didn't sunburn easily!

Alya and Nino were quick to join her and there was no way Adrien was going to be left behind. Marinette was soon in the water up to her knees and carefully walking deeper. Alya and Nino got to the water about the same time, their running causing splashes to go every direction. 

"Oh my god!"

"It's so cold!"

Marinette looked back, now hip deep. "Wusses!" She then sunk all the way down and bobbed back up, her hair drenched and her smile bright. 

Adrien was three steps into the water and hissed. Nino and Alya were right, it was cold. Why was it so cold? Were lakes always like this? He was use to beaches in the south and indoor pools. 

Marinette was now just a head above water, looking at him with wide eyes. Alya and Nino were hip deep, still shivering, but trying to brave it. They too were looking at him, but more with a look of amusement then whatever Marinette's face was. 

"Dude, come on!"

"It's cold!" Adrien declared, still feeling somewhat deceived by the water. After all it was a warm day. 

"It's not that bad. It'll be fine once you get use to the water!" Nino insisted. 

Adrien still didn't move. It wasn't that he didn't believe Nino, it was just not what he had expect from the water at all!

"Scaredy Cat!" Came a teasing feminine voice. It goaded him like nothing else would have. Gritting his teeth, Adrien marched into the water until he was deep enough to just set his arms in front of him and slide his whole body under the water to swim. 

When he surfaced he heard Alya close by. "Nice going there girl! You got him in." A giggling Marinette was next to her best friend. That had been Marinette? Obviously it had been her, but it had seemed almost like someone else. 

The group of friends swam around, floating on their backs at time and splashing each other more often than not. Finally Marinette, who was getting away from an aggressive attack from Nino, looked out and pointed. "Nino, can we go up there!"

"Uh, yeah. I suppose?"

"Awesome!" And she started swimming out into the deeper water where the platform rose above the water. Adrien looked up at it. It was a good story or more above the water. He had to admit it looked like fun to jump off of. 

"Is that thing safe?" Adrien heard Alya ask Nino, as he too started to swim towards the platform, barely hearing Nino's response in the affirmative. 

By the time Adrien reached the wooden ladder to the platform, Marinette was already halfway up the structure. Water dripping down from her body. He watched her until she got all the way to the top before he started up as well. Once he reached the top he saw her with her hands on her hips, looking out at the far shore of the lake.

"It's a great view!" The words were out of his mouth before he could really think about any way it could be interpretative. Instead running a hand through his wet hair so his bangs were not in his eyes. 

Marinette turned, a smirk on her face and her eyes seemed to dance in merriment. Then she blinked as she looked at Adrien and the confident smirk turned more into a shy smile as her hands left her hips, hiding behind her back. "Um, yeah... It's really neat up here. It's like when... I mean, you can see so far."

Adrien took a moment to look around at the panoramic view of the lake. It reminded him a little of being up on the rooftops of Paris. He looked back at Marinette who’s eyes were looking to the side at the water almost directly below. “Yeah, you can.”

They had both gone over to the side of the platform and Adrien considered his options for a moment, before he grinned from ear to ear. “Doesn’t look too far.” Waiting until he caught Marinette’s eyes, he gave her a two finger salute and dived off the platform with a spin. Before his head went under he heard Marinette scream at him.

“NOT FAIR!” Marinette stopped her foot on the platform as Adrien went under the water. She waited, her arms crossed and a pout on her lips until she saw Adrien head bob back up. “I was up here first.”

“You were taking too long,” Adrien called up to her from where he was treading water.

“Mover over!” She told him, motioning with an arm. When he moved enough that Marinette wasn’t worried she might land on top of him she dove into the water. Not to be out down by the model she did a summersault in the air before diving into the water. The water barely rippled as she entered it and Marinette dove deep into the cold water before she started to arch back to the surface for air. Once her head breached she took in a deep breath of air. The rush was totally worth it and she couldn’t wait to go back up to the platform again. She looked over at Adrien fairly certain they had matching grins. She couldn’t look at him long before feeling flustered so she turned to start swimming back to the ladder.

“You two are crazy!” Alya said as she swam just behind Nino, almost to the wooden structure themselves.

“It’s fun Alya, you’ll love it,” Marinette disagreed, waiting for her friends to get to the ladder first. She felt more then saw Adrien just behind her, the way the water ripples changed. She had to admit his dive off the platform had been good, but it also gave her a sense of déjà vu. 

Once everyone was up on the platform, Marinette was ready to jump off again, but she noticed Alya kept looking at the edge, being more than a few steps away from it. Nino for his part way laying down, sprawled out. He seemed in no hurry to get back into the water. “Has anyone touched the bottom?” Adrien asked him.

“Na man, pretty sure it’s too deep. Besides it’d be kind bad if you could. Someone might do something stupid and break their neck.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Alya went to go sit next to her boyfriend at that comment, further away from the edge.

“Alya, you want to jump off together?” Marinette asked, wondering if maybe despite all her bravado, despite all the times she had chased after Ladybug to get video during an akuma attack, maybe Alya was a little afraid. It was almost hard to believe, but then again, no one would believe she was Ladybug, so why not Alya being less than confident diving off a high board in the middle of a lake?

“I’m good for now. Besides I can’t do any of that fancy stuff like you and Adrien.”

Fancy stuff? Oh right, maybe doing a flip into the water wasn’t something everyone would do. It was just as close as she’d gotten to doing anything like she did as Ladybug out of the suit. She couldn’t, and likely wouldn’t try, running around rooftops and jumping between buildings. “Okay, maybe in a little bit then.” Marinette then noticed Adrien near the back edge of the platform looking ready to jump. “No, you don’t get to go first again.”

Adrien looked over at her and grinned and Marinette felt her heart thump, but she walked over next to him, trying to no let her emotions get the best of her. She would act normal around Adrien! “How about on the count of three then?”

There were no fancy flips or tumbles the second time Adrien and Marinette dove off the platform. Instead it was a seamless, uniformed movement between the two of them. By the time they both came back up for air they were laughing together. Marinette was pretty sure this was the most relaxed she’d been around her crush. They did two more jumps after that before trying to coax Nino and Alya to join them. Nino only made a token protest, since he had been still lounging, but Alya seemed less confident. 

“Alya if you really don’t want to do it, that’s okay. You can climb down and we’ll all go back to shore, but it’s safe, and it’s fun.” Marinette gave her best friend her most endearing smile, hoping to relax Alya enough to do it.

“I use to hate this thing when I was little. Didn’t help not having glasses on when swimming out here I think too.” Nino said giving his girlfriend’s shoulder a squeeze.

“I’m not climbing down!” Alya said, but she still looked hesitant as she carefully walked to the edge.

“We’ll jump straight in. No dive even. All together, right guys?” Marinette looked over at Nino then Adrien.

The boys smartly nodded and lined up on the edge with Nino on Alya’s left, and Marinette on her right. Adrien held up his thumb to Alya from behind Marinette and with her friends encouragement, Alya finally looked like she was ready. They let Alya do the countdown, so she was in control and then they all jumped. Alya screamed as she fell, but it wasn’t in complete horror. By the time she came up for air she was breathless and looking around wide eyed.

“So babe, want to do it again?” Nino asked her, trying to hide a smirk on his face.

“I, maybe just one more time. Okay, yeah.” Once more became three more, but then Alya had had enough and was ready to swim back to her towel. “I can’t believe you want to keep doing this!” Alya said to Marinette in the water.

“I don’t have to. I can go back in with you.”

“No way girl, you’re having fun. Besides…” and Alya did a side look over where Adrien was then looked back at her friend with a knowing grin. Marinette sunk down so her nose was barely above water. “Nino will come back with me. He brought his portable speakers with him. I’ll see you when you get tired.” Alya cupped her hands and called out to her boyfriend who waved at Adrien and joined Alya as she started to swim to shore. 

Marinette watched them swim away until she heard Adrien call over to her. “Hey, Marinette, are you going to keep diving too?”

“Yes,” she called back, her voice thankfully not very shaky and she started swimming over to the ladder as Adrien pulled himself onto it. It was the first chance she’d really given herself to examine Adrien since he took his shirt off. Yes, she’d pretty much run away when he’d taken it off back at the towels, but it was either that or stare. Now she could, in the guise of waiting for him to get up all the way. With how slippery the wood had gotten from their repeat trips up it, it was much safer in case someone lost their footing to wait until the other person was all the way on to the platform before going up. His back was tone and tan and she admired the way his muscles rippled as they moved. It was almost with disappointment when he disappeared over the top.

Without the distraction of their friends, it was hard for Marinette not to feel less sure of herself around Adrien. She felt flustered and she hated that. Why couldn’t she just act normal around him? Sure he was perfection, but that was only because he was so kind and generous and honest and okay utterly handsome too. Wait, where was she going with this again? Oh and now he’s smiling at her as he sits on the edge of the platform. Yes, yes she can die happy right now!

“This has got to be one of my best days ever,” he told her in that earnest way that he only showed when he was truly comfortable. He was comfortable with her! It seemed to soften the edge of her building anxity being alone with him. Somehow, despite the giddy grin she knew was on her face, she walked over next to Adrien and sat down as well. “I’m almost glad Alya bullied me into coming out here.”

“You didn’t want to come?” Marinette asked softly. She couldn’t help being a bit sad about that. If it were not for her duties as Ladybug she wouldn’t have had a single reason not to be here with her friends. She couldn’t understand why Adrien wouldn’t want to be here.

Adrien looked over at Marinette, his eyes wide. “No, no no no. I didn’t mean that. I meant.. well… that is…” he twisted the ring on his finger. Then he smiled one of those signature Adrien Agreste smiles. The type that typically melted Marinette into a puddle. It had an affect, but she was more interested in his words and feeling at the moment. “I mean I just wish she hadn’t needed to. Right?”

“Oh, right!” Marinette laughed then glanced back out to the shore where their friends were, and where Adrien’s bodyguard was watching them. “Of course!”

Adrien’s shoulders relaxed and he leaned back a little, his legs kicking out over the edge of the platform. “It’s been fun.”

Marinette nodded in agreement, kicking her legs as well. A slight breeze played over her wet skin but she didn’t care, it was warm enough out that it felt good. Closing her eyes she could almost imagine all the times she was sitting like this over the city, her partner by her side, just taking in the moment. Opening her eyes, she noticed Adrien looking at her. He smiled and then looked out at the water. Marinette was sure she was blushing, but it was almost okay. They were just having a quiet moment and it was, well, nice.

The afternoon turned to evening, and long before then Adrien and Marinette had joined back up with their best friends. Not before diving off the platform about a dozen more times however. The last time Marinette had mock pushed him after he had made a horrible joke. Why did all the boys in her life like puns so much? She told him she’d push him off. He had countered she liked him too much to do any such thing and, well, Marinette wasn’t going to let that challenge go unanswered. She hadn’t really pushed him off, he had already been standing on the edge, holding one foot out. He knew she was coming, so the little shove was totally in his control, and his theatrics upon falling did make her giggle. After that they decided to go back before the Gorilla, who had stood up at that point, thought that Adrien’s health was too much at risk.

They were all happily exhausted eating the dinner that Nino’s Uncle and Aunt had prepared. They discussed the day they had and their hopes for the next day, which was more of the same really. Adrien was looking forward to true night, when the stars would come out and Marinette had to keep herself from smiling like the love smitten fool that she was as he talked with glee about clear night skies away from urban lights. After dinner they played in the water until the early notes of sunset appeared, then the teens split up to go to their rooms and dry off and change cloths. Marinette pulled her hair out of it’s normal pigtails and brushed it out once she got her dress on, happily looking out at the lake. The sun was setting behind them, which meant in the morning the sunrise would be above the lake. Normally Marinette was not an early riser. In fact she hated mornings, but when Alya was distracted and she had gotten a chance to move Tikki out of the beach bag and back into her purse, she set the alarm on her phone. It would be fun to see the sunrise. Besides, she could take a nap later tomorrow if she was tired.

That night, the group of teens laid out a blanket and looked out at the sky. There were more then enough snacks, and Adrien had his phone out to identify different stars and consultations. Somehow Marinette ended up laying down next to Adrien, with Nino on his other side while he excitedly pointed out different stars and their stories. He was adorable nerding out. Nino’s choice of music seemed to match perfectly to the scene, instrumental movie scores that seemed to hint at adventures. It was soft enough they could continue talking with ease, and without vocals seemed to enhance the times Adrien’s information included myths about the stars.

It was the perfect end to the perfect evening, or so she thought until they all wandered back to the house. Nino and Alya had disappeared somehow from the time they gathered their blanket to when Adrien and Marinette got upstairs to the hallway to their rooms. They both chose to ignore the couples absence, instead just saying good night to each other. Then before Marinette could move to her door, Adrien put his arms around her in a hug. Her brain stopped, but fortunately the instinct to hug back was there and she wrapped her arms around his waist. It was a comfortable hug and when they let go, while Marinette was sure her smile was much wider, Adrien looked happy, genuinly happy. 

“Good night Marinette,” he said a second time.

“Good night Adrien,” she replied and went to her room. Once the door was closed she leaned on it and happily squealed to herself. Tikki flew out of her purse and looked at her. “This is the best day ever,” she told the kwami.

“And just think, this is just the start of the weekend,” Tikki reminded her.

Marinette felt her face to red as she left the door and head to her overnight bag to put on her pajamas. Tikki was right, this was just the start!


	2. Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrinette!

When her alarm went off, there were many things that didn't seem right. First it was dark, second there was a body beside her, and third she was not in her own bed. By the time Marinette reached over to her phone to silence the alarm, she remembered where she was (Nino's uncle's lake house), who was probably sleeping beside her (Alya), and why her alarm was set for such an ungodly hour (to see the sunrise over the lake). Turning on the bedside lap, she noticed the lump that was her best friend didn't even stir. What time did Alya finally come to the room?

Figuring she maybe didn't want to know the answer to that or other questions involved in Alya and Nino's disappearance the night prior, Marinette looked in on her kwami who had went to sleep in her suitcase. She felt bad for Tikki, having to hide all day and night, but the little creature gave her a big smile as she pulled out some leggings and a sweater to go with the dress she wore last night. Once dressed Tikki flew into her purse, Marinette shut off the lamp and tiptoed out of the room. 

"I don't remember the last time I was up before dawn," she whispered as she walked down the hall. 

"You like to sleep in, nothing wrong with that. Besides, being Ladybug keeps you up late sometimes," Tikki said leaning out of the purse as Marinette headed to the stairs. 

"True, but this is sorta fun, doing something I never do."

"It's your vacation. That's the point, isn't it? Doing fun stuff you don't normally do."

"I guess," Marinette said, her voice unsure as they headed to the glass door that lead outside. Tikki and her had discussed the worrisome action of leaving Paris, but Tikki had been confident that Marinette would be able to deal with any situation that came up. That didn't mean she wasn't still feeling guilty though, but she had made a better effort to looking foreword to the trip, and here she was, doing something out of character simply because she was away from her home and normal routine. 

Leaning on the railing of the deck, Marinette looked out at the still dark sky, beyond the treeline on the far side of the lake, the sky was lighter, it was still the early moments of dawn and the young woman and her little companion looked out, enjoying the view. Marinette was in mid yawn when she heard the door slide behind her, she looked over and blinked. There was Adrien, wearing sweats and a hoodie. 

Adrien smiled, and gave her a little wave as he walked over to stand next to her against the railing and looked out at the lake and sky. "I'm surprised you're up so early," he admitted, finally looking at her again. 

Marinette glanced at her purse, not surprised to notice her kwami had gone back into hiding. Absently she rang her hands that were hanging over the railing. As much as she wanted to look out at the sky her eyes were drawn to the blond model standing next to her. "I thought it might be fun to see the sunrise, you know, over the lake, might be pretty, and it's not like I have to do anything today, it's a vacation and...." She need to take a breath. "I set my alarm since I'm never up this early."

Before Marinette could advert her eyes, Adrien smiled at her, not the shy hesitant smile that he had when he first walked out there, which she only was realizing was what that had been, but a more amused smile. "I wish I had that excuse. The last few weeks I had a lot of early morning shoots, and for some reason my body doesn't get that I can sleep in since I'm on vacation."

"Oh," was all Marinette could think of to reply as she still looked at Adrien. She finally broke eye contact pointing her gaze back at the sky. "At least you get to enjoy a nice view, right?"

"Yeah," she heard him agree as though it was an exhale of breath. She then felt something by her elbow, when she glanced over she noticed Adrien has crossed his arms on the railing, their elbows just touching, and he looking out past the lake. Marinette couldn't help the smile on her face, or the way her whole being seemed full at that moment, slowly she moved her head back to looking out at the horizon.

Over the next hour, Marinette would steal a glance at Adrien from time to time, and occasionally he would catch her eyes, his smile turning to a grin, and she would always look away first, but not before returning the grin. It was nothing like the silence in the limo the day before and almost like something else, something familiar. 

The familiarity tugged at her until the sky was almost bright and the door was slid open again. "Ah a couple of early birds I see," Aunt Claudette said, holding a mug in her hands. The two teens looked over at the woman. "Would you two care for some breakfast?"

The offer of breakfast seemed to have waken up Adrien's stomach as it growled. Marinette could not help but giggle at the sound. Nino's aunt gave a knowing grin and ushered the two into the kitchen where she started preparing the morning meal, and handing Adrien an apple to save him from his hunger until breakfast was made. Adrien, maybe not surprisingly, did not bite into it, but instead cut the apple in half and offered one part to Marinette who stammered out her thanks and bit into it, feeling the return of her self consciousness. 

Breakfast with Aunt Claudette was a relaxed affairs. She asked the teens questions about themselves and in return traded a few stories about young Nino and the property. By the time they had finished up it their friends had still not shown up, though that wasn’t unexpected, and Marinette decided she would take the opportunity to shower. 

"I think I'll go hang out in the rec room. Let me know when you're done. I want to clean off myself," Adrien plucked at the hoodie even though Marinette was sure it was clean. It was the model in him she was sure. 

Marinette nodded in agreement, thoughts of Adrien in the shower now firmly planted in her imagination. "I .. Yes ... You need a shower ... I mean when I'm out ... Not that I think .... " Marinette was a goner and she knew it. She took two backwards steps away from Adrien then ran for the stairs. 

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." Marinette repeated as she walked down the hall until she made it to the door of her room. She only stopped her mantra when she twisted open the door handle. Inside Alya was still sound asleep, oblivious to her friends crisis. It was so unfair! Marinette was only slightly tempted to wake her friend and rant to her. Instead she gathered her bathroom supplies and change of clothing and snuck back out. Once she crossed the hallway and locked the door of the bathroom she let out a long suffering groan. "I'm the worse!"

"No you're not," Tikki countered, flying out of the purse and floating in front of Marinette's face. 

"Yes I am. Things were going so well, and then, then... Agh!“ Marinette buried her face in her hands, or would have if they were free. "I just..." And she put her bag of supplies down and laid out her towel and clothing. "He probably thinks I'm a freak!"

"Really, you've been more awkward before."

"Tikki, that's not encouraging!" Marinette took a moment to figure out how the shower worked and waited for the water to warm up as she disrobed. 

"I'm just saying you are improving. This wasn't that bad."

"Not that bad? I couldn't stop thinking about him in the shower. With all that skin, and water, and..."

"You were fine yesterday with him."

Marinette blinked ready to continue her rant, but instead her mind went back to their time at the lake and diving off the platform, and swimming and all of it, and she finally sighed in contentment. "That was different," she told the little red creature, though she didn't have as much fight in her. 

"Maybe, but I think if you just remember you can treat him as a person, as a friend, you'll be less likely to freak out."

"It can't hurt to try I guess," and with that Marinette started to shower. By the time she was out and toweling off she was a little less stressed out. Still she didn't want to see Adrien right away, but the other part of her felt guilty if she hogged the bathroom. Reluctantly she dressed and went to see if maybe Alya was finally awake. She wasn't. With little enthusiasm Marinette grabbed her make-up bag and headed back down stairs and to the rec room. 

Adrien was sitting on a couch, the TV on with some sort of super hero cartoon, but his attention on his phone. "All yours," Marinette said in a clear voice, her hair still wet and a towel over her shoulders. 

Adrien looked up and over to where Marinette stood near the entrance. "Thanks," he stood and started walking over in her direction. Marinette couldn't help but watch him as he moved. "Any sounds from our friends?"

"Hu? Wha- oh, no.... Alya was dead to the world, and I'm betting Nino is the same." Thank her kwami she actually was able to think. Of course he would want to know if Nino and Alya were up yet. 

Adrien's face turned thoughtful. "Well if they're not up by the time I'm out we should do something. Even if they are up they'll still need to eat and stuff."

Marinette nodded, not really sure what Adrien meant, but wanting to agree. 

"I shouldn't take too long," he said and them he exited the room. 

Marinette took a few steps to the couch and flopped once Adrien was gone. "Does this mean he wants to spend time with me? Just me?" And the teen superhero giggled to herself at the mere thought of it all. 

 

By the time Adrien had made it down stairs once more, his hair damp, he saw Marinette sitting on the couch, her now absorbed in her phone. Her hair was still lose, but dry now and he could tell she had done some make up. Being a model, he appreciated the artistry of make-up more than most guys. From the side, he would guess she had not done a lot, in anticipation of more water fun he guessed. Still, Marinette's make-up was always on point. The more he thought about it, the more he was impressed with his friend who was often barely on time for class. He doubted she was late because of her make-up, but rather she found a way to do it despite time constraints. More and more impressive!

"Nino is still sawing logs," he said as he finally took a few steps into the room. He watched Marinette fumble with her phone for a moment before looking up at him. 

"Well, it is still sorta early. I hope they both don't sleep til noon though," Marinette said with that odd smile she sometimes gave him when he startled her. He never saw her make that face to anyone other than him and part of him hated it. It was just so awkward. Marinette was cute, even when awkward, but it reminded him too much of those early days when they were not close friends. He thought they were closer now. 

"No kidding, but no reason to wait around. I thought maybe we could walk the wood trail near the lake." Adrien suggested pointing in the general direction of the lake. 

Marinette smiled at him and grabbed her purse while standing. She didn't say anything, but Adrien noticed her hands fidgeting on the purse strap. Two steps foreward one step back. The early morning had gone so well too. Resisting the urge to sigh, he escorted Marinette outside. With his hand on the small of her back Adrien tried to make small talk as they left the house half expecting little to no feedback from his friend. "So have you gotten any inspiration for designs out here?" 

He was relieved that he had touched upon the right topic, because the animated Marinette that he knew started to come out as she talked using her hands as they finally descended down the outdoor staircase. She talked about lighting and vibrancy of colors and the more she spoke the more Adrien found himself lost in her vision. 

They had started on the trailhead of a winding path near the lake. The foliage hiding most of the water as they walked. There were the occasional wildflowers peeking out from the greenery and the sound of not just wind rustling leaves, but small creatures skittering away from the approaching humans. It was a peaceful experience, but the peace was shattered when Adrien felt his phone vibrate. Digging out his phone, he looked down. It was a notification on news about Ladybug. Swiping his phone Adrien felt cold, there was the picture of an akuma terrorizing Paris. From the picture it looked like it might have been a soccer themed villain. He scrolled down, it was still early in the attack and at the time Ladybug nor Chat Noir had been spotted. Guilt gnawed at his heart. He should be there. He shouldn’t be in this idealistic vacation. What if Ladybug needed him?

Adrien fisted his free hand as he put his phone away. 

“Adrien…?”

Did Marinette notice his reaction? There wasn’t any help for it now as he watched her put something in her purse. “Why don’t we head back?” he asked trying to sound light hearted. He was amazed at how casual he sounded and was glad Marinette didn’t argue, but just nodded her head in a serious matter. Adrien wasn’t sure when it happened, but their walk back turned into a jog and from a jog into an outright run until the house was in view again. At this point Adrien knew what he was going to do. He would make his excuse to Marinette and then…

“Adrien, I need to go back home!”

“What?” Adrien looked down at the petite girl next to him. Her blue eyes like steel as she looked at him with the utmost seriousness.

“Please. I need to get back to Paris now!”


	3. Back to Paris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The road to discovery begins here.

“Please. I need to get back to Paris now!” 

Adrien had a million thoughts quickly going through his mind, but it only took him a moment to nod. Marinette's tone and demeanor were not to be questioned by him. He didn't even realize how automatic his reaction was. He just accepted that she needed to go to Paris and he was going to get her back there. They entered the large shed where the boats and motorcycles were. As much as Adrien had wanted to ride the BMW the day before he made the smart choice of the Kawazaki, tossing Marinette a helmet as he went to the keybox to get the right keys.

"Have you ever ridden on a motorcycle before," he asked her as he turned back putting on his own helmet. She shook her head. "Okay, so just hang on, don't freak out as the bike tilts, it's normal. I actually do know what I'm doing," he smirked even though it wasn't likely she could really see it now. He was confident of his skill, but he'd never had someone behind him before. 

Marinette settled behind him once he got on the bike and Adrien showed her where to keep her legs before starting the bike and commenting mostly to himself about the purr of the motor. Then her gripped tightened. "A firm hold is good Marinette, but this vice grip is going to leave me breathless."

Adrien was pretty sure he heard a muffled sorry as she relaxed her grip, and once he was sure about the weight of the bike and his passenger, Adrien rode out of the shed and across the driveway to the road. It was still morning, and with it being a weekend there wasn't much traffic on the back roads. Now that they were going Adrien felt like he was accomplishing something. Hopefully Ladybug would be okay until he arrived. 

They had been going along swiftly, until they actually reached the town traffic. So much for a quick escape back to Paris. When they ended up behind a car that could have easily gone through the light that was now red, Adrien felt Marinette's hold around his waist tighten, though not in crushing grip like before. "Don't worry," he called over his shoulder at Marinette as he dug his phone out of his pocket. If he was going to be stuck at a light he was going to see if there was any update about the akuma attack. "Once we get onto the highway we'll make good time."

Still no Ladybug! Adrien wasn't sure if that was good news or not. All the worse case scenario playing in his head as he pocketed his phone again, not realizing his shoulders were tightening. Sure, Ladybug wasn't at least injured or capture or overwhelmed by Hawk Moth's latest victim, probably. It still didn't account for her not being there yet. He was worried, about her and about Paris without her. 

Adrien was surprised to feel one of Marinette's hands up near his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. It was surprisingly reassuring. He didn't have time to examine why though as finally the light changed, her hand retreated back to it's position around his waist, her body comfortably against his, and they were on the go once more. 

 

By the time they got off the city streets and onto the actual highway system, Marinette was on her way to convincing herself once more that Adrien was a perfect human being. When she had asked, no, told him she had to go back to Paris he didn't ask any questions, didn't make any suggestions on getting his bodyguard or finding their friends. He didn't give her the need to make up an absurd lie. Which she wasn't even sure what it would have been until it came out her mouth. No, he just did what needed to be done, which was get her back as quickly as possible. 

Riding a bike was a different experience, it was loud, and it felt much faster than being in the safety of a car, probably because of the wind. It was slightly exhilarating, but it also made Marinette feel useless as she sat on the bike like she was a sack of potatoes. The tilt of the bike when Adrien went around corners was surprising at first, but by the time they got out of town she was feeling more at ease. 

Then Adrien started to really get them going. Marinette should have expected the speed increase, but it was still her first motorcycle ride. When they started to speed past other cars she felt a smirk start to form on her lips. He was going to get her there as quickly as possible, passing cars, changing lanes, and never slowing down. She didn't even realize when she started to anticipate his need to change lanes, just that she started to lean ever so slightly in the way he needed to so that he wasn't doing all the work. They were working together to get back to Paris so that they could take on the latest akumatized victim. It didn't diminish her need to get back, but she was no longer a passive bystander in this. Marinette felt comfortable as their bodies shifted with the need of their trajectory. 

It was as they straightened out from passing a cluster of cars and were on a momentary clean shot down the road that Marinette's thought process came back to her. She wasn't thinking about Adrien. Her reactions were those for her partner. She was reacting like she was with Chat Noir!

As she tried to talk herself out of that particularly ridiculous idea Adrien changed lanes. Marinette went with it, but couldn't understand why he was heading further left. It was a slight shift in her posture as the question penetrated her mind and she saw movement of Adrien’s hand as it lifted from the handlebar for just a moment to point to the gage at the center. With that she understood. They needed to fuel up. 

They took the next off ramp and easily saw the filling station's sign. Once they rolled up to the pump, Marinette found herself a bundle of nerves. Letting go of Adrien and getting off the bike she dug into her purse. She pulled up the visor of the helmet giving a tight smile to the kwami inside, who hopefully could read the expression in her eyes. Or maybe that wasn't a good thing right now? Pulling out her phone, Marinette scrolled to the latest news. The akuma was wrecking havoc, and there were still no heroes. 

Marinette looked up from her phone and at Adrien. Adrien who was breaking likely several traffic laws at the speed he'd been going. Adrien who was single mindedly heading back to Paris if like on a mission. Adrien who could not have been doing all this just because she said she needed to go back to Paris with no explanation. Adrien who she forgot was Adrien as muscle memory of a sort had kicked in as they sped across the road. Adrien who was looking back up at her as he was gassing up the bike. 

"Cookies," she stated to both their surprise. Marinette tried to get her brain to form the words she needed. "I'm going to go and get cookie, ...because, ....after, ...and I didn't bring any, ...but I should of, ...but now...," she took a breath. "After we... do you need cookies, or something else....?"

Adrien looked at her and blinked. What was she thinking. She had just made things weird, and all her conjecture was totally off base and why did she have to say anything, but she needed to get Tikki some cookies for after the battle and...

"Camembert."

"Wha--?"

"Camembert, if they have any. If not any cheese will work." Adrien jerked slightly looking down at his chest. "The stinkier the better unfortunately."

"Oh, okay!" Marinette took a step backwards, then turned and walked across the parking lot to the connivence store. She thought she heard Adrien's voice muttering as she walked away and she was pretty sure she wasn't imagining the sound of snickering coming from the blond's direction that didn't sound like it came from his lips. 

The cookies were easy to find, the camembert fortunately was available. She stored both in her purse before coming back out. Adrien had pulled off his helmet and was waiting beside the motorcycle. His blond hair was a mess, and Marinette had to shake the stray thoughts of a stray cat out of her head if she was going to have a chance of interacting with him normally. 

"Did they have everything?" Adrien asked once she was closer, pulling his eyes from his phone. 

"Mmhm, got cookies and camembert here," she lightly patted her purse. She then pointed to his phone. "Anything?"

Adrien shook his head as he put his phone back in his pocket and putting the helmet back on. "Nothing much. They're calling themselves the Footballer and pretty much just trashing everything in sight. Could mean they're looking for whoever wronged them or..."

Adrien got on the motorcycle. Pushing her visor back down Marinette got on behind him, wrapping her arms around him. "Or they've already achieved their personal goal and now are trying to fulfill their contract with Hawk Moth."

The engine started, Adrien didn't need to say anything more, but now Marinette knew they needed to talk. Not now though. They needed to get back to Paris in a hurry. 

Marinette had thought they had been going fast before. Knowing a bit more about what awaited them back home was like a spur in the back side. They were making good time she knew and while Adrien was going fast and swerving in and out of traffic, he wasn't being completely reckless. Traffic going east started to get heavier and heavier, until it became impossible to change lanes to keep their speed up. The speed kept dipping to Marinette's dismay. Was there an accident? Was this just normal traffic going back into Paris? 

Adrien kept looking around, looking for an opening. There was something in his motion, in his posture. They needed a plan and they couldn't do it in the middle of the road. She put her hand on his upper arm for a moment, and Adrien started maneuvering the motorcycle to the side of the road. He didn't pull over right away. Instead he got them under an overpass, where the shadows and the cement beams hid them neatly from anyone looking out from their cars. 

Once he killed the engine, she got off the back and took her helmet off. "You have an plan." It wasn't a question. 

Adrien stayed straddled on the bike but took off his helmet as well. "I don't know if I'd call it a plan. More like wishful thinking. I'm pretty sure this is construction traffic. If we could get passed it, it would be easy to make a home run."

Marinette put both hands on her hips, still hanging on to the helmet in one hand. "Us and everyone else wants to get around the traffic."

"Yeah, but they're all in cars, and there's all that," Adrien pointed at the grass that separated the highway from the regular roads. "But like I said, it's wishful thinking. My reflexes aren't that good on a bike."

Marinette looked at the green grass with the occasional tree or bush, then at the bike, then at Adrien. She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side, the answer clear as day to her. "Do you think Chat Noir's reflexes are good enough?"

Adrien took in a sharp breath. "Yeah," he said to her as the idea started to take a hold of him. "Yeah!” She could see it, the smirk that was trying to escape. Honestly she was surprised he was fighting it off. It was another expression that took over his face though. Not quite confused, a little bit of surprise, maybe awe. Disbelief was the closest she could come to. "We're really doing this?"

"We don't have much of a choice," she told him seriously. Not that her emotions were not rolling at this point. Part of herself was still unconvinced that Adrien was Chat Noir and she wanted to stay oblivious to the fact, but there were things more important than her mixed bag of emotions. 

They both looked around, making doubly sure no one could see them. Adrien securing both their helmets before they finally looked each other in the eyes. The complex emotions Adrien must have been experiencing, at least Marinette hoped it wasn't just her, were pushed away by the gleeful grin that spread across his lips. It was an infectious grin and Marinette found herself smiling in kind before she realized it. "On three?"

Adrien nodded. Marinette unsnapped her purse. They never looked away from each other. 

"Un"

"Deux"

"Trios"

"Tikki,"  
"Plagg,"

"Spots on!"  
"Claws out!"


	4. Just An Ordinary Battle In An Ordinary Magical Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing awkward about this akuma battle.

Who was the fool that gave Chat Noir a motorcycle? Oh right, her!

Ladybug had an arm around Chat Noir's waist while her free hand was currently face palming. Chat Noir had given a gleeful shout as their motorcycle sped upon the grass. Ladybug smirk couldn't be helped. They were speeding past all the stalled traffic now and despite the real danger of running into a bush or a hole, it was exciting. 

Still giving Chat Noir a motorcycle just added to the excitable hero's exuberant energy and he was laughing as he drove them. Glancing at the road beside them, Ladybug wondered what people thought as they rode by. This was surely going to be on the news. Alya was going to have a fit when she realized what she missed. 

Glancing back at her partner, Ladybug took note of how his ears were flickering slightly. Heightened senses were paying off on this risky ride, but really this was pretty tame compared to a lot of stunts they'd pulled. Still her heart kept pounding. 

"There's flashing lights up ahead," she spoke up, looking at the roadway ahead even as Chat Noir jerked the motorcycle away from some obstacle. Was that an abandoned couch they just drove by? "Whatever is causing the traffic delay must be up there."

As they got closer Ladybug could see people in reflective vests as well as heavy trucks in the median. Summer construction. 

Ladybug looked at the roadway and when she saw them starting to pass where the work was and the cars starting to spread out from the bottle neck she placed her free hand on Chat Noir’s shoulder. That was all her partner needed to take his attention off the uneven greenery they were driving on, and jump the bike back onto the asphalt. Ladybug wasn’t sure how necessary that stunt was but she wasn’t going to say anything about it.

It didn't take much longer after that to hit the city itself. Traffic was light enough that they were still making good time as Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo to check on the location of the akuma according to the news outlets. They had to be getting closer as the traffic going quickly thinning out. No one wanted to drive into the middle of an akuma attack. 

"Three more exits," she told her partner as she kept an eye on the screen of her yo-yo. 

Concentrating on the coming fight was good. Especially since everytime she had let her mind wander as they got back on the roadway coming into the city her thoughts started going around in a hamster wheel about the boy in the catsuit in front of her. As soon as that happened she noticed him tense up and she realized it was because she was tensing up! It was stupid crazy how they read each other's body language, so Ladybug purposely kept trying to think about the akuma, where the last reports were coming from, the layout of buildings in the area, anything that was related to what Ladybug should be thinking about. Both she and Chat Noir needed to keep their minds on the battle and not be distracted by personal stuff. 

As they took the offramp, she scanned the area with her eyes. The akuma was still several blocks away. "Make sure to hide Mr. Kantari's bike somewhere safe."

"My Lady?" Chat Noir's ears flickered since he couldn't very well turn around. 

"Catch up," she told him as she stood up behind him and threw her yo-yo at a building ahead if them. When it caught onto an antenna she flew away, sure that her partner would not be far behind. 

Swing across the city from high above, Ladybug had a chance to finally see first hand the devastation that the Footballer was leveling the city with. Where there should have been more multistory buildings there was grass. Lots and lots of flat, well manicured grass. Or astroturf. 

"Looks like the akuma is having a field day," a voice slightly below her said as she tried to find the location of said akuma. 

Ladybug glanced down from where she was perched on the edge of a roof seeing Chat Noir standing atop one of the large letters that spelled out the company name. They both saw movement in the distance on the city converted field as the akuma started to use it's powers to bring down another building. With a nod to each other they set off again. Having many buildings just gone caused the superheroes to have to go along the perimeter of the deviation if they were to keep the element of surprise. 

Their presence was unfortunately noticed. The building they were currently atop began to shake, and the two heroes quickly descended to the ground below. "That's one way to level the playing field," Chat Noir remarked as he stared ahead at the akumatize victim from a squatting position. 

"Let's just find the object," Ladybug stated before having to dodge a strangely glowing soccer ball lobbed at her. 

"Hand over your Miraculous or become one with the game."

Beyond the villain was some citizens milling around. Ladybug was frustrated. Why didn't they have the good sense to get away? But then she saw the reflection on the poles that connected them. Two, three, sometimes more people connected together like they were part of a foosball table. 

"Not a chance," was of course not the answer the Footballer wanted as he started lobbing soccer balls that glowed in a way to suggest that they really didn't want to get hit by one of the balls. 

It was a super villain version of dodgeball and the two heroes could not let themselves go out. The fury worsened when balls were set up in front of the citizens who were swung around, their screaming at least alerting the two teens of another volley of attack. It was sickening to hear. 

She must have gotten distracted by the accumulating horror for the citizens, because she felt Chat Noir tug her away and they tumbled together on the ground. When they stopped he was over her, her back on the ground. Usually, usually there was a cheeky grin on his face when this happened, because whether it was her pulling him away on vice versa, he always ended up taking the protective position. Here he was looking down at her and she saw the light blushing on the edge of his mask. She felt her face heat with response. 

It was a moment, just a moment of recollection for both of them. This wasn't just partners, Ladybug and Chat Noir. This was also classmates and friends, Marinette and Adrien. 

_'Later'_

The akuma wasn't going to give them time to deal with the change in their relationship however and as the next ball was lobbed at them they rolled away in opposite directions. Extending his baton to the size of a fighting staff, Chat Noir took to attacking the villain head on. The ball in the akuma's hand changed and met the attack in a defense with a lacrosse stick. 

"What? That's not in soccer?" Chat Noir complained in surprise as he tried to use his baton to push the akumatize victim down. 

"I am the Footballer! I play the field!" The roar that accompanied the statement was nearly deafening and with an extra push, Chat Noir was pushed back away. 

"Isn't that a bit too much personal information?"

With the continual dodging the two heroes found themselves side by side once more. They were pushed backwards until they had been herded into a netted goal. "Now! Hand over the Miraculous!"

Chat Noir looked up and around, then glanced over to Ladybug grinning. "Finally, redemption." At first Ladybug didn't understand what her partner was talking about until he casually went to the edge of the goal. The Footballer had several balls hovering in the air, ready to start kicking them at the trapped heroes. 

"CATACYSM!"

Touching the metal bar of the goal, Ladybug was reminded of their first battle, Chat Noir's powers destroyed the structure of netting and metal. The spotted heroine separated away as her partner taunted the villain. It was time to end this and with Chat Noir distracting the Footballer, it was time for her to call upon her own special power. 

"LUCKY CHARM!"

The spotted red item that fell into her hands was an oddly shaped bottle. She looked at it confused for a moment, then took off the cap, looking at the contents. She then looked up and around and a plan started to form. 

A few attacks with her yo-yo and dodges from them both, Ladybug and Chat Noir were next to each other once more. "I need a little air," she told him. With a grin he put his hands together for her to step up and lifted, giving her a chance to jump up into the air, and fly over the Footballer, dumping out the contents of the bottle onto his head, dish soap.

With an aggravated scream, the villain tried to rub the thick layer of soap out of his eyes, while turning in her direction. "The headband!"

It took almost no effort for Chat Noir to extend his baton, and flick the soap slick headband off the head of their foe, even as he tried to clutch onto it. Once in hand it was tossed to Ladybug, who tore it in half, releasing the poisonous butterfly. 

In short order Ladybug cleansed the butterfly, and threw her Lucky Charm into the air, releasing her blessing of ladybugs to restore the city, both people and buildings. With things restored, they found themselves beside a middle aged man, looking very confused in a neighborhood field. 

"Pound it," they said in happy unison, as they fist pumped, their hands staying up a bit longer than normal as they looked at each other. Then with a cough and a clearing of a throat, they dropped their hands and looked away. 

Close by, on the chainlink fence was a public notice stating the city's intention of repurposing the land for a new building complex. It was not difficult to figure out what likely brought Hawk Moth's attention to the man. 

"Are you going to be alright?" Ladybug asked the man gently as she handed him his now repaired headband. 

Taking it, he nodded. "Yes, thank you. It's going to be sad to see this place go. I have a lot of fond memories."

The twin beeps of their Miraculous sounded, which was good timing because there were reporters coming and Ladybug really didn't want to deal with them today at least. Giving a final wave she turned to Chat Noir.

"We should get going."

"Shall I lead the way, my Lady?"

Oh, right, they were leaving together. On the motor cycle. Because Chat Noir was Adrien! "Y-yes."

Chat Noir didn't say another word, just vaulted to the nearest building. Swinging her yo-yo she followed. There were no words as they went several blocks before he lead them into an alleyway. They checked to be sure no one was around before they dropped their transformations, catching their respective kwamis. 

"I-I guess introductions are in order," Marinette said, keeping her eyes down nervously. She then took a breath, holding her arms out and looking at Adrien. "This is Tikki."

"Pleased to meet you," Tikki said in her squeaky voice. 

"This is Plagg," Adrien said, imitating Marinette's gesture, holding out his cupped hands for her to see the black cat kwami. 

"Can't all this awkwardness wait? I'm hungry!"

"Plagg!“ Adrien scolded. Tikki laughed even as Marinette opened her purse to pull out the well deserved treats for their small partners. Plagg of course took in a piece bigger than his head. The behavior of the two kwamis was night and day, as Tikki was carefully nibbling on her own food. "Plagg you're glutinous!"

Just then Adrien's stomach growled and he suddenly looked bashful which caused Marinette to giggle herself even as Plagg had a smug look on his face. "You were saying?"

"Shut up Plagg," Adrien said looking even more mortified. Despite his reaction he looked over at Marinette. "Lunch might be nice though. It's been a long time since breakfast and we have been, um, active."

“We should leave the city before we look for something to eat. If anyone sees us in Paris…,” she leaves the rest unsaid. 

A few moments later, once Adrien pulls the motorcycle from it's hiding spot behind a dumpster, the two teens were on the road once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appologize mostly to myself for how long it took for this short chapter to come out. Life has been extra messy. Might need an edit later.


	5. Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to air out a few things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I've split the chapters again. I regret nothing but the lack of being able to stop time.

"I'm paying," were Adrien’s words after he opened the door for her and they walked into the restaurant. Not a fast food place, nor a little deli like Marinette had been expecting, but a nice brasserie with table cloths and menus brought to the table.

“What? No, you don’t have to!” Once they had gotten on the motorcycle there hadn’t been any discussion what with the helmets on and the sound of not just the engine but the traffic around them. The ride out of Paris isolated them and Marinette had been stuck with her own thoughts. It had been hard not to find the hamster of her mind running the little wheel of ‘what ifs’.

“You were the one who paid for our, um, snacks before. That was some good forethought. So I’m paying for lunch,” he explained as they were being lead to a table by a window. As she sat down she couldn't help but smirk as he absently tried to get his hair to lay down. Helmet hair seemed to give him a bit more wild look. It helped her think. This wasn’t just Adrien, he never was JUST Adrien, but she still couldn’t believe he was also Chat Noir, even if she knew this fact for several hours now.

Opening the menu she carefully set her purse down by her feet so that the two little occupants could get out. Marinette wasn’t sure Tikki had given Plagg the offer to share her space or if the black cat kwami had just done what he pleased. She suspected the latter. “It still doesn’t seem fair, but I appreciate it.”

“I think I’m getting both a soup and a dinner salad with my meal,” Adrien said, now satisfied she wasn’t going to keep arguing with him about paying. “Oh, and that appetizer tray might be a good idea.” Marinette glanced at the top of the menu and spotted the list of three cheeses that came with one of the plates. That would be good for his companion she was sure. She’d have to order a dessert for Tikki. Wait, what was she thinking? Adrien was paying, she couldn’t ask that. “And I bet their dessert menu will be good too.”

“Adrien…” She looked away from the menu at the blond across the table from her, trying her best to not seem awkward. No, she couldn't think about that! At the edge of her hearing she could hear the two kwamis talking. That’s what Adrien and she should have been doing as well. Talking. 

He looked at her, a sheepish grin on her face. “Sorry, I just don’t know where to start.” He was playing with his ring as he looked at her.

She didn’t know where to start either, but she knew that they had to talk about this and delaying that was only going to be make things weirder. “Is this weird?” Well that worked in the most horrible way possible. 

Adrien leaned back, no longer playing with his ring. “Yeah? But not bad weird. Just…” he spread his hands out trying to grasp a word to use.

“Just weird?” she asked feeling unhelpful. Despite that though he nodded in agreement with a hesitant smile. She returned the smile, even if it was a little forced. “I never expected, well, any of this!”

“Me either. I mean, I thought about it, oh man I’ve thought about this, but still!”

Marinette couldn’t help but giggle. Adrien seemed so expressive at that point. Then the server showed up. She hadn’t even looked at the menu yet, but Adrien started talking, ordering what he wanted, which gave her a moment to make a decision. She sighed with relief once their orders were in and the menus taken away. Neither of them could hide behind the menus now. 

"Where were we?" Marinette didn't want there to be silence. She did, but they didn't have much time before they would be around their friends again and they needed to figure things out. 

Adrien smiled at her, his voice low. "I think I was mentioning how I always wanted to know who you were."

Marinette felt her cheeks warm even as she rolled her eyes at him. "You know why I wanted us to keep our identities a secret and that hasn't changed," she said in a hushed tone. "If we knew, and then slipped up somehow..."

"I know," he said being more serious now as he placed both his hands on the table. "But I still think this is a good thing over all. Yes there will always be a chance of a risk for our friends,"

"And our family!"

There was a look on his face that suggested he wanted to amend that statement but smartly chose not to. "But think of all the benefits. We'll be able to alert each other sooner if one of us gets caught in an akuma attack early on. We can cover for each other when people wonder where we are. We can..."

"We can have one person we don't have to lie to?"

"I was thinking we could be more open with each other behind the mask, but yeah!"

Marinette sighed again, leaning back in her seat, her hands now also on the table. "I always figured you were someone I didn't know, and I didn't know how I'd incorporate you into my life. It was easier to think once, he, was gone I could get to know you beyond the mask."

"So you did want to know!" Adrien smiled in relief. 

"Of course I did!" Marinette placed both her hands atop his. 

Just then the server appeared with their first course and Marinette's hands quickly went into her lap. Once the server was gone, Adrien picked up a piece of cheese. 

"I don't even like this stuff." He then put his hand under the table. 

Marinette giggled, knowing without a doubt that even if their dynamic was different that Adrien loved Plagg just as much as she loved Tikki. After a moment she crossed her arms. "I think we need rules."

"Rules?" Adrien asked. He might have known where she was going with the idea but he needed clarification. In many ways this was much more difficult than when they were in a battle. Then there was implicit trust. Right now though there was a need to ensure there were no misunderstandings because what Ladybug and Chat Noir had was simple and what Adrien and Marinette had was straightforward, but with the whole picture opened to both of them there were so many shades and hues and they could not afford to misstep. 

"Rules behind the mask and out. We probably won't figure this all out today, but we should try." Adrien nodded so she continued. "No using our other names I think should be a starter. If we slip up let's hope it's when we're alone, but we should try to always talk to each other with the right identity."

Adrien frowned in though, even as he slowly nodded. She was right, if Hawk Moth heard their given names that could be a dangerous clue. Almost worse, if Alya heard. "What about contacting each other?"

It was Marinette's turn to ensure understanding. "In what way?"

"Say I notice an akuma and get to the scene and you're still not there?"

Marinette bit on her lower lip, her eyes rolling up to the ceiling for a moment before her focus was back on him. "Texting? We don't save the numbers on our regular phones. Something vague incase someone is looking over our shoulder, but let's us know to transform?"

It wasn't an exact plan but it would do for now. The conversation drifted off from there as they nibbled on the chesse, half of which went under the table. When their second course came it was obvious that while the conversation about rules was not over. They needed more time to think about how their dual identities needed to interact now. Something they would discuss once more when they were back in Paris. 

Adrien put down his soup spoon to look across the table at his friend and partner. "We're okay though, right?"

They were friends. They were partners. They trusted each other truly, but the reassurance was needed for both of them. "Yeah, we're okay. Maybe better than okay?"

At least they could be almost completely honest with each other. "I think so."

They smiled at each other, in relief and happiness. There was still an undercurrent of tension that couldn't be easily squashed. Marinette placed her fork down. "Another rule. When ever we feel anxious or off, even if we don't know why, we let each other know. We can't afford any mistakes and, well, I really want us to be totally honest."

"Are you feeling anxious right now?"

"Yes."

"So am I."

It was a lot to process, but they were doing good. If they'd asked their kwamis, which they hadn't had the time to do so, they would have been told they were taking their accidental reveal very well. 

They continued their lunch discussion with putting together pieces of their experiences in battle. Marinette's loathing of Chloé, which she tried to underplay because she knew Adrien was her friend but even he could admit how exasperating she could be. Ladybug's absence during part of the Evillustrator experience. The close call with the Gamer and how the feather allergy should have given Marinette a clue during the Mr Pigeon problem. 

By the time they were finishing up dessert, Tikki's favorite part, the uncertainty and uneasiness they had both felt and were ashamed for feeling while not gone was much milder. Their partnership had changed. Their friendship had changed. The change wasn't bad, new and scary as it was. 

"You ready to roll, my Lady?" Adrien asked as he took his change after paying. 

"Rules," she lightly scolded him as she put her purse strap on her shoulder once the kwamis were inside the bag. 

"No nicknames?" He asked somewhat disappointed as they started walking to the door. 

"Not ones that can be connected back to our other selves."

"Okay then Princess."

Marinette was sure she was red at that point. Granted he had said it as Chat Noir only once and Marinette had thought nothing of it at the time, him flirting just seemed normal, but for him to use it now! Marinette slugged him in the arm. Not hard, but enough that he could feel it. 

For a response all Adrien did was chuckle. 

They were about an hour still from the house when Marinette tugged on Adrien's sleeve. He took the cue and pulled them over at the next exit. "I think we should maybe let people know we're coming back from our, hm, countryside drive." Marinette said once he cut the engine. 

"That sounds a lot nicer than the truth."

"It's as close to the truth we can get without anyone getting suspicious," Marinette said with a frown. It might have been necessary, but she still hated lying. Especially to her best friend. 

"I'll text the Gorilla and let him believe I got a bit lost on the drive. It will explain why we've been out so long."

"And I'll text Alya to suggest we were letting her and Nino sleep in."

Adrien chuckled once more. "We actually were though. Originally."

"Yeah, I guess we were." Marinette smiled softly thinking about the morning walk. It seemed like it had been a month ago, not just early that morning. 

Eventually Adrien had gotten his bodyguard to give him directions to the house, even if he didn’t really need them. Marinette on the other hand had to deflect all of Alya’s hopefulness that ‘something’ happened. Something did indeed happen, but not what her best friend had been hoping for.

They got back on the road and the last leg of the journey was neither anxious or stressful or worrisome, but content. Two friends riding with each other, comfortable in the space shared between them.


	6. Redux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend winds down, and the teens try to figure out this whole friendship thing anew.

They slowly pulled back into the shed and for the final time Adrien turned off the motor of the vehicle. They both got off and Marinette took a moment to take off her helmet. She looked up at Adrien and was flooded with the feeling of nervousness again. Why couldn't she just get passed this?

"Nino and Alya are probably waiting for us," Adrien said looking at her. No, he might have been facing her, but he wasn't looking at her. Not directly at least. 

Marinette took in a breath. "We're going to get teased for getting lost you know." She looked at him with a smirk and did his shoulders loosen? Good. They could do this. They could...

A shadow fell upon them and Adrien's impossibly large bodyguard came into the shed. "Um, why don't you go find Nino and Alya? I'll catch up in a moment."

Adrien patted her shoulder, while with the other hand opened up his outer shirt so that Plagg could fly out of her purse without the Gorilla seeing. "Okay. See you soon."

Giving the large man a smile and nod she went to find their friends, hoping Adrien wouldn't get into too much trouble for their ride. Alya and Nino were easy to find. Sitting on the other deck, talking. Well at least they were when she showed up. "Marinette, you're back! Finally girl! Where's Adrien?" Alya stood, looking at Marinette like she wanted to drag her off and interrogated her. 

"He's still back at the shed. His bodyguard is talking to him." Marinette didn't hide her worried frown. 

"I'd better go see if I can rescue my bro," Nino said as he also got up and headed for the stairs. 

Once Nino was down on the ground Alya turned to her. "Sooooo?"

Marinette had been dreading this moment. How was she going to hide yet another big secret from her best friend? Yet here she was grinning at Alya. "Do you want to just know about the drive, or the whole morning?"

Alya perked up at this. "Give me all the details!"

"Well..."

Marinette did not in fact give Alya all the details, but she gave her friend enough information about the morning from dawn until Adrien and her had 'decided' to go for a ride that Alya didn't press her too hard when the actual ride seemed short on description.

"Still though, he bought lunch." Alya was lounging on the bed in their room as Marinette put on the cover over her bathing suit. 

Marinette nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I guess he did."

"Did you hit your head while out there? You wore a helmet, right?" Alya looked at her skeptically. Marinette's look spoke of not understanding where Alya was coming from and being a little hurt at the accusation as well. "It's just I would have thought you'd be over the moon after all of this."

Marinette from a day ago would have been. In fact if anything Marinette was sure she wanted to spend even more time with Adrien then before, and that was saying something. Marinette frowned, then put her face in her hands. "I think I'm ever more in love with him!"

Alya hooted in laughter. Laughter Marinette was sure could be heard across the house. What was she going to do?

 

Nino put an arm around Adrien's shoulder as they left the shed. "At least he's not going to tell your father, but dude, what were you thinking?"

"I didn't expect to get lost!" Adrien said, sticking to the lie. 

"Naa man, about going off alone with Marinette?"

"You and Alya were still asleep." Adrien didn't see where Nino was going at all. 

"So you pounced Marinette as soon as she woke up?"

Adrien shook his head. "Of course not, we'd both been awake for hours."

Nino dropped his arm and looked at Adrien in disbelief. "Marinette? Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Up early?"

Adrien shrugged. "She said she wanted to see the sunrise. Believe me, I was just as surprised to see her up." 

Unbeknownst to him, a sweet smile crossed his lips just as Nino was about to drop his assumptions. Instead his best friend narrowed his eyes. "So you spent all morning with Marinette including a couple hour ride?"

They climbed up the stairs and headed to the kitchen. "Yeah, pretty much."

"You must be famished by now."

Adrien shook his head once more. "When we realize we were a ways out I bought lunch."

Nino followed Adrien up the stairs to the bedrooms wanting desperately to compare notes with Alya, because that was a blush he saw. Adrien was definitely blushing just a little. 

It took them little time to change into their swim shorts and debating the merits of heading out or looking for the girls when a boisterous laugh was heard through the wall. 

"Guess that answers that question," Nino said with a grin as he opened their door and went into the hall knocking on the girls' door. 

A moment passed and a still giggling Alya answered. Marinette was behind her pulling her wide brim hat down covering her face. "Are you guys ready to go out to swim," Alya said with a snicker. 

"You know it babe," he lifted an eyebrow glancing at the obviously embarrassed Marinette before looking at his girlfriend again. This caused another wave of laughter from Alya. Nino was sure this was a good sign. 

Before he could make any comments, Marinette pushed past them both, still keeping her face hidden with her hat. "Come on," she muttered as she pulled on Adrien's shirt as she passed him. Adrien followed with a look that could only be described as smitten. 

Alya grabbed Nino's collar. "What! Is! Going! On!" She loud whispered. 

Nino chuckled. "I don't know, but I can't wait to find out."

They didn't find out while swimming. In fact the first several minutes seemed like a repeat of the day before. Marinette got flustered when Adrien took off his shirt and headed into the water first. Adrien grumbled about the temperature of the water long enough that Marinette joined them in teasing him. The four of them goofed off for a long while and finally, to Alya's dismay Marinette and Adrien wanted to swim out to the platform again. 

"I just want to lay here and sleep," Adrien commented as he flopped down on his towel. He and Marinette had just swum back from the platform, having lost count of how many times they'd dived off it. Alya and Nino were still somewhere in the water, neither taking too much note of where their best friends were. 

Marinette yawned as she sat on her own towel, pulling her bag over to wave at Tikki who smiled back at her. "Why don't you then?"

"And accidentally stay out too long and get burned?" He rolled over and looked over at her. 

"The sun feels so nice, but you're probably right. How about a quick nap inside?"

"A cat nap sounds wonderful."

Marinette couldn't have helped the eye roll if she tried. To counter the chuckle coming from her partner, that was slowly becoming more delightful and less weird to think about, she grabbed her hat next to her and firmly placed it on his head. 

He held up the brim of the hat and grinned. "How do I look?"

"I don't know. Ask me again when I've gotten some sleep," she quickly replied as she reluctantly stood to gather her things, because really! How was she suppose to answer that!

It was more than a half hour later when Nino looked out at the shore. He squinted as he tried to recognize patterns of blurred color. "Hey Alya, are Marinette and Adrien still out there?" 

Alya waded in the water near him, also squinting. "I don't think so?"

Normally Nino didn't mind owning glasses, but at this moment he wished he had contacts so he could actually see. Instead they both swam to shore and sure enough their friends had disappeared. 

"They ran off again without us!" Alya sounded both offended and amused. 

Nino glanced around wondering where their friends had ran off to and noticed the Gorilla sitting in his chair, not looking the least bit concerned. He lowered his sunglasses to look at Nino and then pointed at the house. So that's where they went!

Nino and Alya headed back to the house, hoping to catch their friends in a compromising position. Well, not to compromising. They went upstairs and knocked on their own room doors before entering at the same time. Nino was greeted with nothing. Adrien was not in the bedroom. He went out into the hall and found Alya exiting her own room. "Nothing?"

"Nothing," he confirmed. 

"Well where else could they be?"

They went back down stairs and still didn't see the pair in the kitchen. They checked the windows but they didn't seem to be on either deck. 

When they ventured into the rec room they were disappointed in a different way. There their friends were, asleep, on different pieces of furniture. Marinette was on the couch, one arm hanging over the edge. Adrien meanwhile was passed out on a reclining chair. The only amusing factor was Marinette's wide brim hat over his face. Like a good friend Nino took a picture. 

Nino and Alya agreed to let their friends sleep as they had been up since the crack of dawn and it would be nice if they stayed up decently late. Of course when it came time to wake them, as dinner was getting prepared by the adults, it had to be the loudest most annoying way possible. 

"Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want  
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want  
I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want  
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want  
I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)"

"Oh my... Agh!" Marinette threw one of the throw pillows in the general direction of the music playing before trying to curl up in a tighter ball. 

Adrien lifted the hat over his face blurry eyed and confused at his laughing friends. Slowly he started to grin. Nodding his head to the beat for a minute he then chimed in with a horrible English accent. "wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends  
Make it last forever, friendship never ends  
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to..."

"You know the lyrics?" Marinette finally sat up giving Adrien an accusing look. 

"Actually that's all I know."

"Come on Marinette don't you want to ... wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah" Alya said, hanging off Nino as she tried not to laugh herself to the ground. 

Marinette just continued to frown and threw another throw pillow. This time while aiming and getting Alya with it. 

Nino finally turned off the song. "We thought we'd be nice and wake you before dinner."

"It's that late already?" Adrien looked at his phone even as he asked. He pulled the chair in and up, stretching. "That was a longer nap than I planned."

"You both looked like you could use it," Alya said without the teasing. 

Marinette stood up and walked over to her best friend, laying her head of Alya's shoulders. "Dawn is early!"

Alya patted Marinette's head then smirked as she saw Adrien walk over to them with the hat in his hand. She moved her own hand so he could deposit the hat on the head of its rightful owner. "I'm going to go dress for dinner."

"It's not formal bro. We're gonna eat outside." Nino informed him. 

"Still wouldn't feel right eating dinner in my swim trunks."

Marinette was grateful and disappointed at the same time that there would be no bare chested Adrien during dinner. Her warm cheeks being the only reason against. Well that and her likely inability to not stare. 

Marinette too chose to change and so everyone was comfortable eating dinner and hanging out through out the evening. They set up a small fire that night and roasted marshmallows. There were several clouds in the sky that made stargazing difficult so they opted instead to try to tell each other ghost stories with mixed success. It turned out Adrien was too analytical to allow for the stories stand on their own and once he started questioning the practicality of a situation Marinette went from being uncomfortable with the story, to pondering alternatives as well. 

"No one has a cellphone, alright guys?" Alya screamed in aggravation at one point which caused even Nino who had been willing to suspend disbelief during the current story to side with Adrien and Marinette. He then tried for the next twenty minutes to make it up to Alya. 

Finally thinking maybe her friends needed a little alone time Marinette faked a yawn. "It's getting late. I'm calling it a night."

Either Adrien picked up on her cue or just didn't want to be alone with the couple because he also agreed it was late and wanted to head to bed. There was some good natured teasing from Alya and Nino that the night was still young, but didn't really push for their friends to stick around and so Marinette and Adrien headed back into the house. 

In the hallway to their bedrooms they paused. "I think this trip has been good for them," Marinette said, her eyes looking everywhere but at Adrien. 

It had been hard all evening. Every time she glanced at him she felt flustered. She didn't know how to act, only that she wanted more time with him. Yet at the same time being around everyone else made it difficult. More than ever she didn't know how to be normal around Adrien. It felt worse than when she first knew him. So much so she didn't realize he was having similar issues. 

"I think Nino was sorta hoping they could have more time together." The wood paneling was very interesting. 

"Oh? That's good. I'm happy for them." Marinette wrung her hands together and slowly looked at Adrien. 

"Yeah, me too." In what seemed like forever he looked her in the eyes. 

Relief washed over Marinette. She wondered in the back of her mind how many more times she was going to feel apprehensive around Adrien. Didn't they settled most of the important things over lunch? Perhaps though it took longer than one meal slightly rushed to get emotions and thoughts wrapped around each other. 

Her relief was reflected on his face and he opened his arms to her. Marinette didn't hesitate to hug Adrien. Whatever else this was good and right. "Tomorrow will be easier, right?"

"I think so," he said softly in agreement. They both separated. Too soon for both but they were both scared and hesitant about how to act still. 

"Good night Adrien," Marinette said with a smile. She was both filled with such positive emotions for her partner and friend and yet still felt like there was still so much more that she was scared to touch. The smile he returned made those emotions overflow and the way he said good night was almost too much. 

By the time she closed the door to her room Marinette felt like she ran a marathon. She admitted as much to her kwami as she set about to change into her night gown. "Don't worry Marinette. It will get easier. I promise. It's a lot to take in. You're happy though, right?"

Marinette sat on her bed and nodded with a smile. "I am. I really really am Tikki, but this changes so much and that scares me. What if I make a mistake and ruin everything and HawkMoth takes advantage of that and..."

"Marinette!" The kwami flew in front of her face, putting her little paws on Marinette's lips with an endearing look. "As long as you both try your best and are honest, everything will work out."

"I believe you Tikki, but..."

"You're still going to worry, aren't you. That's okay too. Just know you can talk to me any time and really him too."

Marinette knew Tikki was right, even if it would be hard to get use to. She'd been so use to only having Tikki to rely on, having Adrien, Chat Noir, to tell everything to was enough to get her agitated with conflicting emotions. Emotions she wanted some handle on soon. In the end after some tossing and turning she was able to get her mind to rest, remembering the warm feeling that surrounded her when they hugged and any time she thought about all their previous interactions. Somehow glossing over some of the scarier moments in battle. 

 

Adrien woke with a start. There was a snorting sound beside him that then turned back to a steady buzz of a snore. He never woke when Nino came back into the room, which Adrien was grateful for. It had been hard going to sleep that night thinking about how his Lady, his lovebug, as Alya's akumatized form had once referred to her as, was sweet, sassy, amazing, Marinette who'd sat behind him all year long. He had felt giddy, amazed and intimidated by knowing. 

Now there was steely grey outside, telling Adrien he'd once again woke at dawn. He wanted to go back to sleep and knew he wouldn't be able to. He sighed and then carefully picked himself out of bed, grabbing the sweatshirt he'd worn the previous morning. Plagg didn't want anything to do with Adrien's inability to sleep and grouched as he settled into the pocket of the sweatshirt, not even wanting cheese yet. 

Adrien yawned as he headed down the stairs once out of the room and only paused when he noticed a figure outside on the deck like the morning before. Quietly he opened the sliding glass door. He wasn't too surprised when she turned to look at him before he stepped foot on the deck. "Woke up because of your old schedule?"

Adrien nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. "Unfortunately. What about you though?"

Marinette laughed. "I somehow managed to rearm the alarm. Likely when I woke up yesterday. Once I figured out why I was awake I didn't think I would fall back to sleep. Of all the luck, hu?"

Adrien leaned against the railing but didn't look out at the sunrise. There was something much more captivating to his eyes. "Depends. Good luck or bad?"

Marinette smirked, looking at him. "Maybe a little bit of both. That's how we work, right?"

Adrien grinned back at her. "And we make the best team." It was silly, but it was pure impulse. He held his fist out to her. There was no hesitation as Marinette fistpumped him. She then looked out at the sky, standing closer to him than when he first walked over there. He turned his gaze finally out at the sky, leaning against Marinette and certain that if he was in his suit he'd be purring right then and there. 

There was snippet of conversation between the two of them. More recollection of things that had happened in the past that now they had a new outlook on. Mostly they just enjoyed each other's presence, the comfort of the body next to them being the person they trusted most. When they glanced at each other, it was with a grin, knowing that the other person understood them better than anyone. 

It was with this new level of comfort granted to them from not only the talk they were able to have over lunch, but just getting rest and seeing each other again, that they joined Aunt Claudette for breakfast once more. 

Knowing their friends would not be up for a while they took turns showering and then headed out for a walk. They avoided the woods this time, in apprehension of a repeat of the morning prior, but no notifications buzzed through their phones and Ladybug and Chat Noir were not yet needed back in Paris. 

When Alya and Nino finally came out of bed and looked for their friends, after first having something to eat thank you very much, they found them skipping rocks on the lake. They had no clue that that crunching of the gravel underneath altered not just their two friends but also their small constant companions who quickly hid. 

"What are you two doing?" Nino asked, somewhat confused by the scene. It wasn't that anything was exactly wrong, but it wasn't what he would have expected. Marinette looked absolutely relaxed and Adrien moved closer to her in a casual, companionable sort of way. Nino honestly expected Adrien to drape an arm around the girl at any moment. 

"We're skipping rocks," Adrien said, tossing a rock into the air absently and catching it again. 

"He's skipping rocks. I'm more like dunking them," Marinette amended. 

"You're starting to get the hang of it," Adrien looked at her disagreeing. 

Alya and Nino exchanged looks. This was not normal. Good, but not normal at all. Alya cleared her throat. “So how do you two feel about going out and rowing on the lake before we have to start packing to go back?"

 

Rowing on the lake was a lot of funs, even if Nino had to do most of the work. Alya was more interested in recording their trip on her phone, Marinette nearly lost her ore when Nino tried to teach her how to work the ores and Adrien, well Adrien was taking up the task like a natural. He disagreed, finding he had a hard time keeping up the rhythm at any good speed, but Nino insisted his friend was gifted with too good of coordination. When Alya suggested that Marinette and Adrien should try to row together, Nino was sure it was going to turn into a disaster. Instead while they were slow, and Marinette was the more uncoordinated of the pair, the boat did not end up going in circles, or otherwise not going in the direction they intended. It was slow, but Nino had to admit the teamwork was there. Alya looked only slightly miffed she didn’t get a stuttering Marinette out of the process. Alya looked much more pleased later when she caught the look on Adrien’s face as he helped Marinette out of the boat. Nino had to agree that his best friend might have been that helpful to anyone, but the look on his face suggested he wouldn’t have minded keeping ahold of their small friend’s hand.

Lunch was a simple affair, if a bit late for the early birds who hadn’t eaten since early in the morning. Then it was time to pack up their stuff and put it in the limo and then say their good byes to Nino’s uncle and aunt. Hugs were exchanged and treats given for the ride back to Paris, including some for Adrien’s bodyguard who seemed to appreciate the gesture. Once they had pilled into the limo the teens were both disappointed and ready to go home. Marinette was leaning on Alya, not quite asleep, but also not as awake as her friend who was grumbling about how she missed the akuma attack from the day before. Nino tried to insist that she didn’t have to personally be at every attack in the city and Adrien second this, though in a much quieter manner.

The trip home was much quieter than the trip to the lake as they reminisced about their favorite parts of their weekend. Adrien and Marinette kept clear of every mention of the motorcycle trip, which might have made their best friends suspicious, but it was the easiest way to deal with it in the end. When they finally arrived back in Paris, Alya was the first dropped off, being tackled by her younger sisters before she completely got out of the limo. Nino was next, who fist pumped Adrien on his way out and insisted they get together later in the week. With only Marinette left, the kwamis came out of their shared hiding space in Marinette’s purse. It seemed that it was going to be a thing from now on when the two teens were together. Marinette didn’t mind as long as no one thought she was going to regularly carry around cheese. Plagg wasn’t her kwami after all.

All too soon the limo was in front of the bakery. 

“I had a really great weekend Marinette,” Adrien said to her with an smile that was quickly melting her heart.

“I did as well. I think the best one I ever had.” No, the smile before was nothing to the one he was giving her now.

“So I’ll see you later?” His hand hovered centimeters from hers.

“For patrol, of course.” They might have just defeated an akuma the day before, but they still had a pattern to keep up.

Adrien shook his head. “I meant, um, well, without the masks.”

Marinette fought to keep her mouth from dropping. He wanted to hang out with her, as her. She couldn’t have been happier leaving the car. “Of course,” she said a bit louder than she had meant to and then lowered her voice. “I’d like that I mean. We can discuss when, later?”

Adrien nodded, grinning from ear to ear. They gave each other an awkward sitting hug, then Marinette finally exited the limo and gathered her bags that the driver handed her. She gave Adrien a wave before heading to the door of the bakery.

Adrien sighed, lowering his hand once the limo started to drive away. He felt like he was on could nine.

“So you had a good weekend with your girlfriend, hm?” The black kwami said with a sarcastic snicker.

"Plagg, she's my friend!" Then Adrien smiled softly. "But maybe that can change now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so very much for reading this fic. If you're disappointed there was no romance at the end, I will tell you a secret. There might be a sequel. Not that I'm promising romance in the sequel. More likely than not these children will be idiots for a while longer, but they're so cute in their obliviousness!


End file.
